High School Girls' Basketball: Bobcats edge Golden Eagles

February 28, 2009|From Staff Reports

BROOKINGS - Aberdeen Central led at the end of every quarter break, but Brookings led when the final horn sounded on Friday in an Eastern South Dakota Conference girls' basketball contest. The Golden Eagles lost 39-38. “It was a game we really let slip away,” said Aberdeen Central coach Dawn Seiler. “We were in the driver's seat. We just made some mental errors down the stretch that cost some valuable possessions.” Aberdeen led 8-6 after the first quarter and 16-13 at halftime. The Golden Eagles also led 25-24 entering the fourth quarter. “We led pretty much throughout the whole game,” said Seiler. “Never a big lead, but we got up by five a couple of times. It seemed like we would make plays where we kind of shot ourselves in the foot, whether it be a turnover or missed free throws, something like that.” Alison Kusler led Aberdeen with a game-high 16 points and Hilary Peterson added 13. Aberdeen Central (9-11) will host ESD foe Huron at 7 p.m. Monday at the Golden Eagles Arena in the first round of the District 3AA tournament. “We don't have any time to worry about this,” said Seiler. “We have to direct all of our attention toward the next game. We split with Huron during the course of the regular season. We need to take care of business on our home court. They have a team that can be very explosive offensively. We are going to have to be on top of our game offensively and do a great job on the boards to control them.” ABERDEEN CENTRAL: Hilary Peterson 3-5 7-10 13, Alison Kusler 5-9 5-6 16, Ashley LaFave 1-3 1-2 3, Kayla Schaunaman 0-5 0-2 0, Megan Jordre 0-3 0-0 0, Kelcy Schaunaman 2-9 2-4 6. Totals 11-34 15-24 38. BROOKINGS: Erinn Osborne 0-2 2-2 2, Lianna Morrow 3-5 2-2 8, Courtney Higgins 3-7 7-7 14, Lynsey Magnus 0-5 0-0 0, Kaylin Helsper 3-5 4-5 10, Katelynn Gordon 0-5 0-0 0, Cassidy Kotelman 0-1 1-2 1, Ashley Odegaard 2-5 0-0 4. Totals 11-35 16-18 39. Aberdeen Central (9-11) 8 16 25 38 Brookings (6-14) 6 13 24 39 3-point field goals - Kusler, Higgins. Fouled out - Osborne, Morrow. Total fouls - Aberdeen Central 14; Brookings 20. Rebounds - Aberdeen Central 27 (Peterson 5); Brookings 27 (Helsper 6). Turnovers - Aberdeen Central 15; Brookings 13. Steals - Aberdeen Central 5 (Peterson 2); Brookings 7 (Magnus 3).